There are a couple of Star Trek sequel tidbits floating around the Internets that TrekMovie has been getting emails on and so once again we have done some checking and we have some debunking to do with regards to IMDB and Benedict Cumberbatch and also locations for the film. See below.

IMDB did NOT confirm Cumberbatch as Khan

TrekMovie got a number of tweets and emails about the IMDB page for the Untitled Star Trek Sequel (2013). The issue was that actor Benedict Cumberbatch was being listed as playing "Khan." Many fans were taking the listing as an official confirmation of previous rumors. It was not. IMDB is a fantastic website and resource for any fan of films, however the site does not break news for films in production. It functions somewhat like a Wiki, where anyone can submit an edit to a page (to be reviewed by editors). And in fact after the Khan listing went up, I submitted a number of edits to the page, which have just been implemented. The Khan listing is now gone. I also suggested the addition of Bruce Greenwood in the role of Christopher Pike (officially confirmed) and the removal the note "rumored" next to the casting of Noel Clarke. Both of those edits were also implemented.

However, inexplicably IMDB now has Cumberbatch listed as "rumored". My submitted edit said Cumberbatch was officially confirmed, but that the role of Khan was only “rumored.” Perhaps the editor got confused on that, and this shows unreliable IMDB can be before the release of a film. Let us not forget that back in 2006 IMDB had Matt Damon listed as playing Kirk in the 2009 Star Trek movie.

For his part, director JJ Abrams wont even confirm Cumberbatch is playing a villain, however this has been confirmed by TrekMovie sources (and Variety). Some outlets have reported Khan is in the film, but this is not something that has been confirmed officially by Paramount or by sources. Khan’s name has been heard but there have also been denials so for now we continue to consider it a "rumor." It is possible Cumberbatch is playing Khan, but it is important to note that IMDB was not confirming rumors, only repeating them (and now they are just leaving the character name blank).

IMDB listing now closer to confirmed info, but still a bit off

Star Trek sequel locations have NOT been tweeted

Another thing going around the Interweb is a tweet from Locations Hollywood, a company that does location services (but not for the Star Trek sequel).

This list has been reported elsewhere, however TrekMovie sources say that this isn’t accurate. With the exception of listing Sony Studios (which TrekMovie has already reported), this actually appears to be a partial list of locations from the 2009 Star Trek movie. The Budweiser plant is also expected to be used again for engineering sections of the Enterprise, but that isn’t really news either. As for Long Beach City Hall, that was used for the Starfleet Academy assembly room, and a hanger at MCAS Tustin was used for the academy hangar scene and Vasquez Rocks was used for Vulcan (which was destroyed). As for Dodger Stadium, the 2009 film actually was using the parking lot, but that was mostly due to allowing them to build sets outdoors that will get good sunlight and have real blue skies (saving them from having to add the sky later via CGI). The Dodger Stadium shoot was actually spotted in 2008 by a local news helicopter.

2008 filming of Star Trek film at Dodger Stadium parking lot

There are also locations for the new movie that are not listed above. TrekMovie has already reported that the new movie will be shooting at an LA area museum which will be standing for a famous Star Trek location. There is also the alien jungle location which will be shot somewhere in southern California (originally JJ Abrams traveled to Hawaii to scout for this location). A trusted source also tells TrekMovie that there are other interesting alien locations being shot on location.

UPDATE: Due to TrekMovie’s reporting, Locations Hollywood has since removed its original tweet. In an email to TrekMovie, they say they are going to double check on their source. According to LH, their goal is to “generate interest in projects that film in L.A.” and they want to be sure they are accurate.

Stay tuned to TrekMovie.com for all the latest on the Star Trek sequel.

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Darwin5

I’m first and I’m Khaaaaannnnnn

January 23, 2012 9:44 pm

ARGG

Staaaaar Traaaaack

January 23, 2012 9:54 pm

Ensign Ricky

Please no Khan.

January 23, 2012 9:57 pm

Oddness

Whatever it is Mr. Cumberbatch does in this movie should be sure to please. This man can act! I think hes one of the most interesting talents of this time.

January 23, 2012 9:58 pm

MJ

“There is also the alien jungle location which will be shot somewhere in southern California.”

East LA?

January 23, 2012 10:00 pm

Jack

Anybody can submit that stuff? So I can list my landlady as Sexy Tellarite #3?

January 23, 2012 10:01 pm

Matthew M

Can’t believe all you clowns still think it’s going to be Khan. That would be the worse move anyone could make. It’s one thing for a Mexican to play Khan, he did it well being a darker complexion like a Punjabi Indian would have but a lily white English boy as a Punjabi Sikh? No way. What’s next, ‘blackface’?

Wake up people, it’s not happening.

January 23, 2012 10:09 pm

MJ

@7. I disagree. I have predicted it is Khan from Day 1, and I will be fully vindicated in front of you, Keachick and others when it is confirmed soon.

January 23, 2012 10:11 pm

Charles E. Pratt, Jr.

I wonder when we’ll have the official movie site going online…

January 23, 2012 10:13 pm

Bucky

Confirmation at some point would be nice if Khan is in it or not. It’s starting to get a bit silly. These ain’t exactly nuclear launch codes, y’know.

Thanks for the update Anthony P. Thanks for the info on IMDB, I still trust the site, it gives a lot of information on film and the history of actors.

January 23, 2012 11:00 pm

Oddness

Sybok…Now that might be interesting. Actually having him around could be super interesting. Ben C would be a killer Vulcan or Romulan as a more anti hero type.

It would be a hoot if they simply put Del Toro up to a faux casting call only to make it appear as if wed have version of Khan in this film. Just the kind of fun misinformation tactic I could see JJ using.

Let me be clear, I love IMDB. I use it all the time. It is a very reliable source of information about films. The problem is some people misunderstand what it is and apply that trust for past films to films in development and believe there are these insiders at IMDB who are breaking news. That simply is not the case. It is, as it says in the name, a database. And as with all databases, garbage in, garbage out.

I got all these emails saying “IMDB is reporting” and “according to IMDB” when really it is “some guy edited the IMDB page to say…”

January 23, 2012 11:04 pm

Thorny

What’s that “Ensign Spyke” entry all about?

January 23, 2012 11:08 pm

AJ

Ack! Cant wait until this part of the wait is done with.

January 23, 2012 11:10 pm

Peter Loader

IMDB’s pretty good. I use it all the time and find it highly reliable.

January 23, 2012 11:11 pm

Keachick - rose pinenut

I wonder which forest they might use for filming. I just googled forests in California and there are 18 national forests in that state and I also found out that there is a Pine mountain! I am in awe. Fantastic! C’mon, JJ and co, seduce me with some glorious sights of Californian natural beauty, along with some awesome sights from galaxies far, far, far away… I dare ya!

The state of California is about a third bigger than the whole of New Zealand. Just saying.

January 23, 2012 11:40 pm

Andrews

The racefail that would have to occur in order for lily-white Bernardo Cumberbastion to play the Sikh, Khan, would be omega-level and a complete embarrassment on the part of JJ, Orci, Kurtzman, the casting director, et al. I have enough faith in the Supreme Court that it’s not going to happen.

Now they had BETTER NOT LET ME DOWN

Besides, they’re probably saving Khan for the third one, as depressing as that is (I want him gone forever).

January 23, 2012 11:44 pm

Andrews

@10: “Confirmation at some point would be nice if Khan is in it or not.”

No way; it’s continuing to generate buzz and JJ is a troll. Not to mention he lost a lot of interest and goodwill by waiting so damn long to start on the sequel, and he needs all the help he can get to keep interest levels treading water.

January 23, 2012 11:47 pm

Chasco

“The Budweiser plant is also expected to be used again for engineering sections of the Enterprise”

Seriously? After so much negative feedback, so many pleas for an engineering section with a futuristic feel, and SO MUCH MONEY to spend? They”re going with the s*dding brewery?
Sheesh

January 24, 2012 12:01 am

FarStrider

@18 THANK YOU, Thorny. . .I’ve been wondering about that for weeks!

~FS

January 24, 2012 12:10 am

boborci

Yo, spent the day on set with DamOn and Peter Weller. We couldnt believe how smart, how funny, how warm, and how talented Mr.Weller was. One of the best days, proffessionally, of my life.

January 24, 2012 12:11 am

FarStrider

@26 Oh, stop rubbing it in, boborci. . . We already know you have one of the coolest jobs in the world. . . ~___^

~FS

January 24, 2012 12:17 am

boborci

27. Ha! Let me demystify my job. Being on set, as a writer, is usally BORING!

January 24, 2012 12:20 am

Commodore Mike of the Terran Empire

Hey Bob Orci. Please tell me you guys took the lens caps off for filming.

January 24, 2012 12:23 am

Commodore Mike of the Terran Empire

Hey Bob Orci. Can you confirm if J.J will be using lens flares for this movie as well.

January 24, 2012 12:25 am

Commodore Mike of the Terran Empire

Hey Bob. For some reason I just can’t see you being Bored on a Star Trek set.

January 24, 2012 12:26 am

FarStrider

Uh huh. . . I’m sure you are saying that because you don’t want everyone gunning for your job. . . I mean, even the waiters in Hollywood carry scripts around. . .

Seriously though, I know being creative is actually work, it’s good to hear (read) that so far everything is going well. . .

Hey, Peter Weller has a Masters in Roman and Renaissance Art (His wiki.) According to his Wiki, he’s working on his Italian Renaissance art history at UCLA. After seeing him in Robocop, he’ s also a crime fighter who’s good with a gun. What a Renaissance Man! If any of you missed his Funny or Die commentary about the proposed statue in Detroit of Robocop, I’ve linked it for you. I forgot. The man can dance too.

IMDB, has its good moments and bad moments, I have a page on there, nothing big mind you just a few small speaking roles and v.o. things I have done in the last 10 years (only stuff that i am actually credited for none of the uncredited crap alot of extras like to do )and None of the credits of mine they have listed for me were submited by me, however they are missing several projects I have a legitmate onscreen credit for, and everytime i try to submit it they fail to add them, Ive even tried contacting them more directly to get them to add them. and on top of that recently they replaced my photo with that of a lady (Mind you I am a MAN) who it turns out had a name similar to mine. It took me a month for them to resolve that issue, all the while they are more than happy to take my imdbpro fee,inspite of their error. And they even have 3 credits on my page that are not mine as well, that I have submited to be removed but they still dont.

Like I said the stuff ive done is under fives on a few soap opera’s and a few dayplayer and V.O. Stuff,small stuff yes, but freaking roles ive recieved a legit on screen credit for, and it just agrivates me to no end,that alot of times that they will let any joe blow fill their page up with uncredited back ground work, but small legit actors who actually have credit on screen get ignored when its brought to their attention.

January 24, 2012 1:00 am

Khan was Framed!

My god, can we please get a title for this thing already?!

And it’s ridiculous at this point to continue to hold back Cumberbatch’s character, it’s been weeks now, just tell us he’s Khan.

So sick of this secrecy game.

I need a few decent spoilers to keep me invested.

January 24, 2012 1:16 am

Pat

I think thats ahhh star traak enterprise there…geeez

January 24, 2012 1:26 am

danielcraigsmywookiebitchnow

21 when was it said they were filming in a forrest here? I ve read Jungle, not forrest. And a Jungle and a forrest are about as similar as a swamp and a lake.

January 24, 2012 1:30 am

Bugs Nixon

I went off IMDB when they changed the layout. I used to be on it all the time, now I barely look at it.

January 24, 2012 1:37 am

danielcraigsmywookiebitchnow

If i had to guess I would probably say it would be somewhere around Malibu state creek park which has been used as a jungle setting before in movies as well.

January 24, 2012 1:39 am

Ibot

please no khan, make sth fresh and new

January 24, 2012 1:54 am

danielcraigsmywookiebitchnow

43 I am with you! I thought we were past all these Khan rumors allready.

January 24, 2012 2:06 am

captain_neill

Thank God these are rumours.

You would have one angry Trekkie here if the villain turned out to be a redo of Khan.

Khan is one of my fav villains and one of the best movies period and any redo or new take would always be inferior to the original so stay away.

January 24, 2012 2:57 am

Keachick - rose pinenut

#40 – No. The meaning of forest, jungle and bush are synonymous. It depends where the word is used, eg.

Bush – term also used in Australia
“New Zealand’s bush is of a different quality: densely forested land, as exemplified by the area around Lake Gunn in Fiordland

In New Zealand, the term has a more specific connotation — that of isolated, heavily forested countryside, as opposed to the open coastal plains and tussock-covered high country. Bush always refers to areas of native trees rather than exotic forests. In contrast to the Australian “bush” it would be impossible to ride a horse through New Zealand bush, and foot travel is slow and arduous, except on walking tracks cut for purpose.

The New Zealand usage of ‘bush’ probably comes from the word ‘bosch’, used by Dutch settlers in South Africa, where it meant uncultivated country.[3]” – Wikipedia

Forest –
” A dense growth of trees, plants, and underbrush covering a large area.
Something that resembles a large, dense growth of trees, as in density, quantity, or profusion: a forest of skyscrapers.
A defined area of land formerly set aside in England as a royal hunting ground.”

Jungle –
“1. (Earth Sciences / Physical Geography) an equatorial forest area with luxuriant vegetation, often almost impenetrable
2. any dense or tangled thicket or growth”

The picture shown of a jungle in Hawaii on the November 20 Trekmovie.com thread could easily be a photo of bush in our Waitakere Ranges half an hour’s drive from my place on the north west coast of Auckland. I went tramping in a less accessible area there with others a few years back and we could only get through the thick undergrowth by using a machete. NZ’s bush is also referred to as a sub-tropical rainforest.

January 24, 2012 3:05 am

Aurore

“…spent the day on set with DamOn……”
______

ENOUGH with the provocatiOns!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:))

January 24, 2012 3:05 am

Tom

#26 boborci

Any plans to spend a day on set with the Shat. There is a wonderful scene that I think should be filmed…

January 24, 2012 3:25 am

Werbwolf

I really hope Khan will be in the movie.
Here is how I imagine it to be:

Silence
The stars are slowly wandering over the screen and we see a small shadow coming near.
The shadow forms into a longly shaped vessel.
The name will be recognizable. On the hull it says “Botany Bay”
The camera moves slowly towards a door while a lensflare from a nearby star is seen.
Suddenly there is a fast flash of light which moves from the left to the right

Cut to the Bridge of the Enterprise

Sulu: “Captain? We just hit an object while at warp. It was not mentioned in any maps.”
Kirk: “Any damages?”
Sulu: “No sir, but the objekt was vaporized.”
Kirk: “Well, retain course and speed. Can´t have been that important” *biting in apple*